View source for Fast of Esther

{{Short description|Pre-Purim fast}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2019}}
{{Infobox holiday
| holiday_name  = The Fast of Esther
| type          = [[Judaism|Jewish]]
| image         = Ferrara_Fast.jpg
| imagesize     = 
| caption       = Drawing of the Jewish people fasting and praying following Esther's request
| official_name = {{lang|he|תַּעֲנִית אֶסְתֵּר}}
| nickname      = 
| significance  = Commemorating the three-day fast observed by the Jewish people in the story of Purim
| begins        = 13th day of Adar at dawn (if Shabbat, then 11th day of Adar at dawn)
| ends          = The same day, at nightfall
| date2018      = February 28
| date2019      = March 20
| date2021      = February 25
| celebrations  = 
| observances   = Fasting
| relatedto     = [[Purim]]
| date          = 
| date2022      = March 16
| date2023      = March 6
| date2024      = March 21
| date2025      = March 13
| date2026      = March 2
| date2027      = March 22
}}

The '''Fast of Esther''' ({{langx|he|תַּעֲנִית אֶסְתֵּר|Ta'anit Ester}}) is a [[Ta'anit|fast]] in [[Judaism]] observed on the eve of [[Purim]]. The fast commemorates two communal fasts undertaken by the Persian Jewish community of [[Shushan]] in the [[Book of Esther]] to pray for salvation from annihilation due to an evil decree that had been instigated by [[Haman]], the king's royal vizier, an [[Antisemitism|antisemitic]] enemy from the [[Amalek]]ite nation.

Unlike other fasts, the Fast of Esther is a Jewish custom. It is not mentioned in the [[Talmud]], but it is mentioned in the [[Midrash]] and other later sources from the days of the ''[[Geonim]]''. Therefore, it is considered less severe than the other fasts.<ref>[https://ph.yhb.org.il/en/05-14-09/ Ta’anit Esther] in [[Peninei Halakha]] by rabbi [[Eliezer Melamed]]</ref>

[[Esther]] asked [[Mordecai]] to have the [[Jews]] fast and pray on her behalf for three days and three nights before she approached her husband, King [[Ahasuerus]], to beg for the life of her people. Another is presumed to have occurred on the 13th of Adar, the day before the Jews fought a battle to defend against their enemies, who had been given irrevocable permission to murder Jews for one day a year on the 14th of that month, which is now a Jewish holiday of Purim on account of their victory.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chabad.org/holidays/purim/article_cdo/aid/644314/jewish/The-Fast-of-Esther-What-Why-and-How.htm|title=The Fast of Esther: What, Why and How|website=www.chabad.org}}</ref>

Before approaching the king unbidden at risk of her life, Esther told Mordechai:

<blockquote>Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day; I also and my maidens will fast in like manner; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.<ref>{{tanakhverse|Esther|4:16|HE}}</ref></blockquote>

==Laws and customs==
The fast is from dawn to nightfall. Usually, one should not eat or drink after the fast until one has heard the evening Megillah, though if one is weak, one may have a snack.<ref>{{Cite web |last=aj1ovat |date=2025-02-27 |title=Purim Night - Eating Before Megillah and the Nighttime Megillah |url=https://corehalachos.com/purim/night-eating-before-megillah-nighttime-reading/ |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=Core Halachos |language=en-US}}</ref>

It is a common misconception that this fast dates back to Esther's time. The book of Esther 9:31 recounts, "They had established for themselves and their descendants the matters of the fasts and their cry", but this refers instead to the fasts mentioned in the book of Zechariah 8:19.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MikraotGedolot – AlHaTorah.org |url=http://mg.alhatorah.org/Full/Esther/9.31#e0n7 |website=mg.alhatorah.org}}</ref>

The first mention of the Fast of Esther is as a ''[[minhag]] '' that is referenced in the ''[[Geonic]]'' period.<ref>"[http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=613&letter=P&search=purim#2297 The first who mentions it is R. Aḥa of Shabḥa (8th cent.) in "She'eltot]" iv."  ''The Jewish Encyclopedia'', {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110913003820/http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=613&letter=P&search=purim|date=September 13, 2011}}</ref> A 2010 study examines the origin of the fast and the reason for its arising in the Gaonic period.<ref>{{cite journal |last=First |first=Mitchell |date=Nov 2010 |title=The Origin of Taanit Esther |journal=AJS Review |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=309–351 |doi=10.1017/S036400941000036X |s2cid=162829573}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Origin of Ta'anit Esther |date=March 4, 2011 |url=https://seforimblog.com/2011/03/origin-of-taanit-esther/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219193037/http://seforim.blogspot.com/2011/03/origin-of-taanit-esther.html |archive-date=February 19, 2012 |access-date=January 30, 2013}}</ref>

The fast is observed on the 13th day of the [[Hebrew calendar|Hebrew month]] of [[Adar]] (when the year has two Adars, it is observed only in the second Adar). If the date of the Fast of Esther falls on [[Shabbat]], the fast is instead observed on the preceding Thursday.<ref>''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 686:2</ref> As the Fast of Esther is not one of the four public fasts ordained in the Tanakh, the laws concerning its observance are more lenient: pregnant people, nursing people, and those with illnesses precluding fasting are not required to observe it. <ref name="i785">{{cite web | last=Enkin | first=Rabbi Ari | title=Dalet Amot of Halacha | website=OU Torah | date=28 February 2025 | url=https://outorah.org/p/219067 | access-date=13 March 2025}}</ref>

==Fasting in the Book of Esther==
[[File:Ferrara Fast.jpg|thumb|Illustration of the Jews following Esther's instruction to fast, with text {{script/Hebrew|וצומו עלי}} ''wə-tsūmū ‘ālay'', "and fast for me," from Esther 4:16. (Mosheh ben Avraham Peshkarol, [[Ferrara]], 1617)]]

It is generally accepted in the rabbinic tradition that the original three-day "Fast of Esther" mentioned in chapter 4 of [[Book of Esther]] occurred on the 14th, 15th, and 16th days of [[Nisan]], these being the eve and first two days of [[Passover]].<ref name="JVL">{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/esther.html|title=The Fast of Esther|publisher=Jewish Virtual Library|access-date=March 17, 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514011241/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/esther.html|archive-date=May 14, 2011}}</ref> While [[halacha]] usually forbids fasting on Passover, it is believed that Esther reasoned it would be better to fast on one Pesach lest they all be destroyed and thus never be able to observe the holiday in the future. However, due to the customary prohibition of fasting on Passover, the "Fast of Esther" instead became attached to the eve of Purim, the 13th of Adar.<ref name="JVL" />

The 13th of Adar was a fast day for the warriors while going out to battle, as it had been customary to fast during battle to gain divine favor.<ref>[https://www.sefaria.org/Mishnah_Berurah.686.2?lang=he&with=all&lang2=he Mishna Berura 2 on Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 686:2]</ref>

==Date in the Gregorian calendar==
The [[Gregorian calendar|Gregorian]] calendar dates correlated with 13 Adar, from dawn until nightfall, for 2021–2026 are:<ref name="ta-anit-esther">{{cite web|title=Ta'anit Esther (Fast of Esther) in Israel|url=https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/israel/ta-anit-esther|website=timeanddate.com|access-date=February 11, 2021}}</ref><ref name="TaanitEsther">{{cite web|url=https://www.hebcal.com/holidays/taanit-esther-2022|title=Taanit-Esther at HebCal.com}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|- class="hintergrundfarbe5"
|- 
!  align='center' | Hebrew year ||  align='center' | Gregorian Date
|-
|  align='center' | 5781 ||  align='center' | 25 February 2021
|-
|  align='center' | 5782 ||  align='center' | 16 March 2022
|-
|  align='center' | 5783 ||  align='center' | 6 March 2023 
|-
|  align='center' | 5784 ||  align='center' | 21 March 2024
|-
|  align='center' | 5785 ||  align='center' |  13 March 2025
|-
|  align='center' | 5786 ||  align='center' |  2 March 2026
|}

== See also ==
* [[Amalek]]
* [[Aneinu]]
* [[Fasting in religion#Judaism|Fasting in Judaism]]
* [[Haman (Bible)]]
* [[Selichot]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Wikisource|Translation:Arukh ha-Shulchan/Orach Chaim/686|Aruch HaShulchan: The laws of the Fast of Esther}}
* [https://ph.yhb.org.il/en/05-14-09/ The month of Adar and the holiday of Purim, minhagim (customs) and halachot (laws)] in [[Peninei Halakha]] by [[Rabbi]] [[Eliezer Melamed]]
* [https://www.ou.org/chagim/roshchodesh/adar/thirteenth.htm Jewish Holidays] at [[Orthodox Union]]

{{Book of Esther}}
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{{Jewish and Israeli holidays}}
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[[Category:Adar observances]]
[[Category:Esther]]
[[Category:Jewish fast days]]